Applications open for Novartis Health Equity Initiative (Canada)

Deadline: 19-Jun-2026

The Novartis Canada Health Equity Initiative is accepting applications from Canadian charitable and non-profit organizations working to reduce health inequities and improve healthcare access for underserved populations. The 2026 funding theme focuses on Women and Gender-Diverse People’s Health Equity, with a total funding pool of CAD 250,000 available for community-driven projects that address systemic barriers and improve health outcomes.

Overview of the Initiative

The Novartis Canada Health Equity Initiative supports innovative, community-led projects that address inequities within the Canadian healthcare system. The programme recognizes that health outcomes are often shaped by social, economic, geographic, and systemic factors that create barriers to accessing quality healthcare.

Through this initiative, Novartis Canada seeks to support practical and sustainable solutions that improve healthcare access, strengthen trust in healthcare systems, and promote equitable health outcomes for underserved communities.

Funding Theme: Women and Gender-Diverse People’s Health Equity

The current funding cycle focuses specifically on improving health equity for women and gender-diverse individuals.

The initiative seeks projects that address barriers affecting healthcare experiences, diagnosis, treatment, and long-term health outcomes while promoting respectful, inclusive, and culturally sensitive care.

Priority Focus Areas

Projects should align with one or more of the following areas:

• Health equity
• Women’s health
• Gender-diverse people’s health
• Social determinants of health
• Equitable access to healthcare
• Earlier diagnosis and intervention
• Respectful and culturally sensitive care
• Reduction of healthcare biases
• Community-driven healthcare solutions
• Mental health support
• Rural and remote healthcare access
• Inclusive healthcare delivery
• Shared decision-making
• Community engagement
• Sustainable health interventions
• Lived-experience informed approaches

Key Challenges the Initiative Seeks to Address

The programme acknowledges that many underserved communities face barriers that negatively affect health outcomes.

Examples include:

• Income inequality
• Transportation barriers
• Housing instability
• Food insecurity
• Caregiving responsibilities
• Geographic isolation
• Rural and remote living conditions
• Language barriers
• Mental health challenges
• Limited access to primary healthcare services

Projects are encouraged to develop solutions that directly address these challenges.

Eligible Project Activities

The initiative supports practical and measurable interventions designed to improve healthcare equity.

Examples may include:

• Improving access to healthcare services
• Supporting earlier diagnosis and treatment
• Reducing bias and discrimination in healthcare settings
• Building trust between healthcare providers and communities
• Strengthening patient engagement and shared decision-making
• Addressing healthcare dismissal, bias, and misdiagnosis
• Developing culturally responsive care models
• Supporting mental health and wellbeing initiatives
• Creating community-informed health education and outreach programmes

Community Engagement Requirements

A core requirement of the programme is meaningful community involvement.

Applicants should demonstrate:

• Active participation of community members
• Inclusion of individuals with living or lived experience
• Community-informed project design
• Ongoing stakeholder engagement throughout implementation
• Mechanisms for gathering feedback and adapting activities

Projects that are developed with communities rather than for communities are strongly aligned with programme objectives.

Funding Details

The initiative provides support for innovative health equity projects across Canada.

Funding available:

• Total funding pool: CAD 250,000

Applicants must clearly explain:

• How funds will be used
• Expected outcomes and impact
• Sustainability plans
• Evaluation and measurement frameworks

Successful organizations will be required to provide regular progress updates and reporting.

Eligibility Criteria

The programme is open to organizations operating in Canada that are focused on addressing health inequities.

Eligible applicants include:

• Registered charitable organizations
• Registered non-profit organizations

Requirements:

• Must operate within Canada
• Must focus on reducing health inequities
• Must demonstrate capacity to deliver the proposed project

Ineligible applicants include:

• Individuals
• Organizations located outside Canada

Evaluation Criteria

Applications will be assessed based on several factors.

Review criteria include:

• Strength of community engagement
• Inclusion of lived-experience perspectives
• Potential to advance health equity
• Project feasibility
• Measurable outcomes and impact
• Long-term sustainability
• Quality of evaluation framework

Expected Outcomes

The initiative seeks projects that produce tangible improvements in healthcare equity.

Expected outcomes may include:

• Improved access to healthcare services
• Better healthcare experiences for women and gender-diverse people
• Reduced systemic barriers to care
• Increased trust in healthcare systems
• Earlier diagnosis and intervention
• Stronger community participation in health solutions
• Sustainable improvements in health outcomes

Frequently Asked Questions

• What is the Novartis Canada Health Equity Initiative?
  • A funding programme supporting community-led projects that reduce health inequities and improve healthcare access across Canada.
• What is the 2026 funding theme?
  • The initiative focuses on:
    • Women’s health equity
    • Gender-diverse people’s health equity
• How much funding is available?
  • The programme offers:
    • CAD 250,000 total funding pool
• Who can apply?
  • Eligible applicants include:
    • Registered charities
    • Registered non-profit organizations operating in Canada
• What types of projects are supported?
  • Examples include:
    • Healthcare access initiatives
    • Earlier diagnosis programmes
    • Mental health support projects
    • Community-informed healthcare solutions
    • Bias reduction and culturally responsive care initiatives
• Is lived-experience involvement required?
  • Yes.
    • Applicants are expected to actively involve people with living or lived experience in project design and implementation.
• How will applications be evaluated?
  • Assessment will consider:
    • Community engagement
    • Health equity impact
    • Feasibility
    • Sustainability
    • Measurable outcomes
    • Evaluation plans

Conclusion

The Novartis Canada Health Equity Initiative provides funding for community-driven solutions that address persistent healthcare inequities across Canada. By focusing on women and gender-diverse people’s health, community engagement, and lived-experience informed approaches, the programme aims to support practical interventions that improve access to care, reduce systemic barriers, and create more equitable health outcomes for underserved populations.

For more information, visit Novartis Canada.